Objective To study the changes of cytokine activation in patients with chronic congestive haert failure(CHF) as indicated by plasma levels of C-reactive protein(CRP)and its relation to adrenomedullin(ADM) and endthelin-1(ET-1).Methods The plasma levels of CRP,ADM and ET-1 of 60 decompensated haert failure(DHF) patients group and 30 essential hypertension patients with compensated cardiac function(CCF) group were tested. CRP was determined by immunoturbidometry,ET-1 and ADM were determined by radioimmunoassay.Results The plasma levels of ET-1 ,ADM and CRP of decompensated heart failure group were significantly higher than the compensated cardiac function group;In the decompensated heart failure group,the plasma levels of CRP and ADM were elevated according to worsening of heart failure(NYHA classification) ;In the decompensated heart failure group,the plasma levels of CRP were positively correlated with ADM(r=0.57).Conclusion There is extensive activation of cytokines,ADM and ET-1 in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.Cytokine activation might play a role in the synthesis of ADM,thus contribute to the hum oral regulation of heart failure,but may not be re- sponsible for the activation of ET-1.

BACKGROUND:Hyperhomocysteine can be caused by 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene mutation, and HHcy is the independent risk factor for cerebral stroke.
OBJECTIVE:To study the correlation between plasma homocysteine level and polymorphisms of MTHFR gene C677T of young people in Shenzhen area, and to explore the relationships of plasma hyperhomocysteine level with other clinical indicators.
METHODS:A total of 101 cases with hyperhomocysteine were col ected as experimental group, and 101 cases with normal homocysteine level served as control group (20-45 years old). Genomic DNA was extracted with magnetic nanoparticles method from mouth swab samples of 202 cases. Then the DNA was amplified into target gene fragment by PCR, and amplification product was then sequenced.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The frequencies of CC, CT, TT genotype of MTHFR C677T showed significant differences between the experimental group and the control group (P<0.01). This evidence indicates that the polymorphisms of MTHFR gene C677T can influence plasma homocysteine level of young people in Shenzhen area;TT genotype frequencies and T al ele frequencies in the experimental group were higher than that of control group. Besides, the plasma homocysteine level of TT genotype was significantly higher than that of CT genotype and CC genotype in the experimental group (P<0.05). We can conclude that TT genotype can improve the homocysteine level more than CT genotype;The systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in the experimental group were significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). It indicated that hyperhomocysteine can induce the elevation of blood pressure level;but it is not sure that hyperhomocysteine can increase cholesterol level in our study.

Objective To observe the expression levels of Mig in the patients with chronic hepatitis B .Methods The study pop‐ulation consisted of 88 chronic hepatitis B patients and 53 healthy controls .The ELISA ,RT‐PCR and Western‐blotting were used for analysing the expression levels of Mig in serum ,peripheral blood mononuclear cells and liver tissue of the patients with chronic hepatitis B ,while the immunohistochemistry was applied for analysing the distribution of Mig in liver tissue .Results The expres‐sion of Mig in serum ,peripheral blood mononuclear cells and liver tissue of the chronic hepatitis B patients with HBeAg negative were (247 .03 ± 63 .14)pg/mL ,(0 .95 ± 0 .21) ,(0 .79 ± 0 .23) ,and that in the chronic hepatitis B patients with HBeAg positive were (243 .05 ± 53 .00)pg/mL ,(0 .98 ± 0 .35) ,(0 .74 ± 0 .18) ,which were both significantly higher than those in healthy controls ,the difference was statistically significant(P<0 .05) .Conclusion Increased levels of Mig in the patients with chronic hepatitis B may be related to immune state of patients .

Objective To explore the application value of cellular automata(CA)in simulating the epidemic spread of out-break of influenza A(H1N1).Methods The publications regarding influenza A(H1N1)from January 2009 to March 2015 were collected from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),epidemiological data of H1N1 were retrieved ac-cording to inclusion criteria,the Matlab 7.0 software was adopted to construct CA model for simulating and analyzing the epidemic of H1N1 occurred in a university in Chongqing between October 12 and November 20,2009.Results There were a total of 17 820 students in this university,the epidemic of influenza lasted 40 days in 2009;When the parameter,the ef-fective infection rate was 0.04,the model of CA fit well,and gave estimate for basic reproduction number (R0 )1.202. Conclusion CA has certain reliability in simulating epidemics of airborne infectious diseases,it can provide reference for the prevention and control of disease.

This study was aimed to explore the resource diversity and microbial inhibition activity of endophytic fungi from medicinal plant Plantago asiatica L. The endophytic fungi were isolated from the root, stem and leaf of the host by tissue inoculation culture and five plant pathogenic fungi and four bacteria strains used as indicating microbes to test microbial inhibition activity by agar plate antagonistic action and modified agar gel diffusion methods. The results indicated that thirteen fungal endophytic strains were isolated from the host. Most of them came from stem, then leaf, and root as the least in number. The isolated strains attribute to five genera, two fam-ilies, and two orders based on morphological characteristics. For the isolated strains, eleven of them were found to have some microbial inhibition activities against one or more indicating fungi, making up 84.6% of the total iso-lates. Six isolated strains had some antimicrobial activities against one or more indicating bacteria, amounting to 46.2% of the total isolates. Three isolated active strains, which are PAEFS001, PAEFS007 and PAEFS008, ex-hibited evident inhibition activities against five kinds of pathogenic fungi used in the trials respectively. The strain of PAEFS001 ascribed to Ozonium sp. Both strains of PAEFS007 and PAEFS008 ascribed to Aspergillus sp. One active strain of PAEFS003 showed evident antibacterial activities to Bacillus subtilis and Staphyloccus aureus, which belonged to Fusidium sp. The endophytic fungi from medicinal plant Plantago asiatica L. have evident an-timicrobial activities. Their inhibition activities against pathogenic fungi have relatively broad spectrum. And their inhibition activities to both Bacillus subtilis and Staphyloccus aureus as G+ are evident and have certain selectivi-ty. It is feasible to find new bioactive compounds associated with endophytic fungi from Plantago asiatica L. Fur-ther research and development of the endophyic fungi will be important for the integrated utilization of the host.

Diabetic nephropathy presents an increasing trend worldwide. It has been an attractive area to find novel targets for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. SIRT1 (Sirtuin 1), a member of deacetylation enzymes, regulates cell senescence, metabolism, and apoptosis. In last ten years, lots of studies showed that SIRT1 exerts a protective effect in the progression of the diabetic nephropathy by promoting reconstruction of energy homeostasis, modulating cell redox state, resisting cell apoptosis, inhibiting inflammation and ameliorating renal fibrosis. SIRT1 has become a potential new target for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.
Apoptosis ; Cellular Senescence ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; pathology ; Humans ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Sirtuin 1 ; physiology

Objective:To investigate reflectance confocal microscopic features of childhood scabies, and to analyze clinical significance of reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood scabies.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed in 77 children with confirmed scabies at Department of Dermatology, Tianjin Children′s Hospital from April 2018 to October 2019. These patients were divided into negative treatment history group (61 cases) and positive treatment history group (16 cases) . All the patients underwent RCM and microscopic examination of skin scrapings.Results:Among the 77 children with scabies, positive microscopic examination results were found in 33 (42.86%) , including 28 in the negative treatment history group and 5 in the positive treatment history group. Burrows, sarcoptid mites or their eggs and fecal pellets were observed in 56 cases (72.73%) by RCM, including 49 (80.33%) in the negative treatment history group and 7 in the positive treatment history group. RCM showed a significantly increased overall positive rate compared with microscopy of skin scrapings ( χ2=14.08, P<0.05) . In the negative treatment history group, RCM also showed a significantly increased positive rate compared with microscopy of skin scrapings ( χ2=15.53, P < 0.05) . Conclusion:RCM is of high clinical value to the diagnosis and treatment of childhood scabies.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of unilateral pedicle screw fixation in treating thoracolumbar fractures through paraspinal approach.

METHODSFrom January 2006 to January 2009,21 patients with single level thoracolumbar fracture without neurological symptoms were treated with unilateral pedicle screw fixation through paraspinal approach. There were 14 males and 7 females,aged from 21 to 65 years old with a mean of 36.4 years. The duration from injury to operation ranged from 6 h to 5 d with an average of 3 d. According to the classification of Denis fracture, compression fractures happedned in 12 cases and burst fractures happened in 9 cases,including 1 case with T5 fracture, 2 cases with T7 fracture, 2 cases with T10 fracture, 3 cases with T11 fracture, 8 cases with T12 fracture, and 5 cases with L1 fracture. Based on the Flankel grade, all patients were classified as grade E. Anterior vertebral body height ratio, sagittal Cobb angle, condition of internal fixation failure, visual analogue score (VAS) were evaluated.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 12 to 36 months with an average of 20.5 months. No internal fixation failure was found. Anterior vertebral body height ratios at preoperative 3 days after operation and last follow-up were 54.3 +/- 2.8, 92.9 +/- 1.5, 93.8 +/- 1.7, respectively;sagittal Cobb angle at the three timepoints were (27.8 +/- 2.5) degrees, (5.3 +/- 0.8) degrees, (6.3 +/- 1.4) degrees, respectively; the difference was statistical significant (P < 0.05). VAS was (1.2 +/- 0.4) points at last follow-up and had obviously improved (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTreatment of thoracolumbar fractures with unilateral pedicle screw fixation through paraspinal approach is safe with the advantages of micro-trauma and less blood loss,which can not only completely retain the posterior spinal complex structure, reinforce the spinal stability, raise the reductional quality, but also improve the strength of fixation and the distribution of stress force.

Adult ; Bone Screws ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fractures ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; injuries ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo develop an HPLC method for fingerprint determination of the astragalosides injection.

METHODAnalyses were carried out at 25 degrees C on a Zorbax SB-C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm,5 microm). Mobile phase A was water, and B was acetonitrile. The analysis followed a linear gradient program. Initial conditions were 15% B; 0 to approximately 65 min, changed to 60% B. The flow rate was 0.8 mL x min(-1). The drift tube temparature of the ELSD was 105 degrees C, and gas flowrate was 2.7 L x min(-1).

RESULTThe RSD of relative retention time of the common peaks in the plant material, the extract and the injection fingerprints was less than 0.1%, and there was good similarity among 10 batches of samples.

CONCLUSIONThe method was reliable and simple which could be used for quality control of the injection.

Astragalus membranaceus ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Injections ; Light ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Saponins ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Scattering, Radiation ; Triterpenes ; analysis

Crigler-Najjar Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Jaundice ; etiology